For You, With You
by chinarai
Summary: Jean still wondered where the sudden spurt of courage came from, and how he managed not to make a fool of himself. Just imagine, him nearly confessing his feelings for her in the heat of the battle. How cliché.


If you follow my tumblr _gravitydive_, or track the _jeankasa_ tag, you probably already read it. I'm posting it only now because, well, I don't know the reason myself lol

So here is a gift to tumblr user _jeakasa_ based on her headcanon about the two of them. I'm planning on writing more about those two! They're so lovely!

For the Zelda fans who read_ Assassin_ and are checking this out, I'm having troubles with chapter ten (for reasons that I'll explain later).

Please, enjoy this story! The first of many, hopefully!

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**For You, With You**

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Mikasa let her grip on the blades completely slacken, letting them fall to the cobblestone ground and she fisted her hands. They were useless now, just like her broken 3D maneuver gear, and there was nothing she could do to escape the approaching titans.

She took a step back and brought her hand up to her neck, gripping the soft fabric of her red scarf, memories swarming her head. All of the reasons she fought for, all of the reasons she kept herself alive for; none of these would save her now and she couldn't save herself either. Running away wasn't an option. The titans saw her long ago, they were coming her way; trying to flee only to get caught later wouldn't change her fate. She would die anyway.

Death... Was she afraid of dying? Certainly not. Mikasa knew of the risks of joining the Scouting Legion and if she were afraid of death she wouldn't be where she was now. Was her imminent death like she had imagined? She wouldn't know; Mikasa never stopped to think about it. The future was uncertain in this world they lived; why would she waste time planning something that she couldn't control?

Another step back, her back touched the wall. Her fingers brushed on the bricks and she closed her mouth, resisting the urge to swallow.

What a déjà vu. The scene was repeating itself, but instead of one titan, there were two, and this time there was no powered up version of Eren to save her. _Eren_, she bit the inside of her cheeks and glared at the approaching creatures; Eren would be so, so disappointed. His words were still fresh in her mind, they were a constant reminder, but this time there was nothing she could do. She only hoped he and Armin would get to the salt water they dreamed of seeing. She hoped they would travel the world and get to know every single inch of it.

She gave her best and would die protecting the ones she loved. Yes, that seemed a plausible way to go.

"Mikasa!" The titan that was closer to her stumbled sideways and fell dead on the floor, the sudden display causing the young soldier to press against the wall. "Mikasa!" Her gaze shifted from the dead giant to Jean Kirschtein, who landed smoothly on his feet and threw some things in her direction. She caught them out of reflex and her eyes widened at the sight: new blades and a spare 3D maneuver gear.

"What were you thinking?!" He scolded her while glancing over his shoulders; eyebrows draw down in an angry scowl. "You could have died!" _I know_, she thought but didn't answer. "Don't go flying off on your own like that! We're a team!"

She only stared at him, feeling unable to replace her broken equipment or to even look away. "You can't deal with every titan at once! You know we have to work as a team, Mikasa!"

"Jean-"

He cut her off, half turning towards her, "Do you have any idea of how scared I was when I saw you here by yourself!?" Mikasa gasped quietly, her muscles stiffing and her eyes widening slightly. "Do you know what I would do if you died here and now? I wouldn't, Mikasa! I-" Jean stopped, suddenly realizing what he was saying. He turned back to face the titan, cheeks reddening despite the dangerous situation they were in. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, he spoke in a much calmer tone, "Just- Just flee the area and replace your gear, and then keep fighting."

"Are you insane?" She asked whilst tugging on her maneuvering gear, "I can't leave you here, you might die!"

Jean smiled at her words, glad that she was worried about his safety and somewhat giving him credit by not bluntly saying he'd die. "You must live, Mikasa." He looked over his shoulder again and she looked up to meet his gaze, "I'm gonna fight for you, always."

Mikasa watched as he flashed a gentle grin before turning and flying off towards the titan. Cursing under her breath, she quickly got disposed of the broken gear and replaced it, then picked up the blades and pushed herself away from the wall. Running towards the titan, which was now slowly turning around to pursue Jean, Mikasa shot the hooks on the titan's nape and flew towards it, blades drawn and ready. They cut through the flesh easily, instantly killing the creature; it stumbled to the ground, destroying part of a nearby house, but besides that there weren't any other damages done.

She landed on the titan's back and looked up at Jean, who slowly lowered his arms from his face and looked down at her from the partially destroyed roof. "Jean," Mikasa called out and he only stared silently at her, "I'm gonna fight _with_ you."

With that said, she flew towards the next titan, Jean tailing behind her.

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Finally it was over.

He plopped down on the roof of a house and stared at the city with tired eyes. The titans were killed and they managed to save everyone just in time. _Thank goodness_, he thought as his fingers gently grazed the back of his right hand. The skin was marred and aching, damaged after he accidentally burned it while fighting. It didn't stop him from fighting, but it did slow him down.

But surprisingly, Mikasa tagged along with him all the time. Jean was quite sure she was simply repaying his favor by saving his life, much like he saved hers, but he didn't care about her motives. She was there, she was with him, and she was supporting him. It was reason enough for his heart to soar and to heat his cheeks up.

Jean hunched forward and heaved out a deep sigh, hiding his burning face in his unscratched hand. Just the thought of her got him in a fuzzy state, causing him to start daydreaming and maybe hoping for a future together, so uncharacteristic for a realist guy like him.

He was a hopeless cause.

"Jean." Said man turned around quickly, eyes wide and mouth agape at the source of the voice. He quickly recovered from the shock, chiding himself for not hearing her arrival.

Mikasa approached him, noticing how he kept his right hand unmoving. "How's your hand?"

He felt more heat concentrate on his cheeks and so he averted his gaze. _Pull yourself together, Jean._ He cleared his throat, "it has seen better days."

There was a ghost of a smile on her lips, but he missed it. "I brought something for you," she stated as she lowered herself to the roof tiles and Jean curiously shifted his gaze back to her face. Noticing how her eyes were downcast, he too looked down to her lap and saw some bandages and ointment. It was then that he understood she was going to treat to his injuries, but she had already taken hold of his wrist before he could hide his burnt hand.

Her touch was gentle and so were her fingers as she slowly spread the ointment on his skin. Jean fought hard against another blush (_damn it, Jean, you're better than this_) and kept his eyes focused on her working hands, instead of looking away like he wanted to. Despite her looks, Mikasa wasn't very gentle about things, unless it came to injuries. But still, she had an unnatural grace, especially when battling. She was as graceful as she was deadly.

"I was surprised to see you there." She said suddenly, still not looking up at him even after he jolted at her words.

Ah yes, he remembered it clearly, of course. Jean still wondered where the sudden spurt of courage came from, and how he managed not to make a fool of himself. If the situation wasn't dangerous, he would have laughed then and there; just imagine, him nearly confessing his feelings for her in the heat of the battle. How cliché.

But still he was glad that he suddenly felt brave then. If it were not for it, he wouldn't have slain the titan and she would be gone by now, much probably leaving him feeling lost.

Mikasa reached for the bandages and started wrapping them around his hand. "It was very brave. I'll admit I wasn't expecting you to stay and fight." She released a puff of breath and Jean widened his eyes at that; _was that a chuckle?_ He blinked his eyes into their normal size and smiled nonetheless; well, he surprised her and in a good way.

She knotted both loose ends together and looked up at him, face as serene as ever, "this will do until you get checked by a medic." Mikasa placed her hand on top of his before he could move away and he met her gaze with wide eyes again. "Thank you, Jean. Not only for saving me, but for showing you care."

Patting his hand one last time, she gave him the supplies she brought along and bid him goodbye, flying off with that same grace he had grown to admire. Jean watched as she returned to the headquarters, fingers unconsciously tracing where she had touched.


End file.
